The Form of the Power of Attorney to Enter into a Share Transfer Agreement in the Light of the Decision of the High Commercial Court of 11 December 2019

Visoki trgovački sud zaključio je da punomoć za sklapanje ugovora o prijenosu poslovnih udjela mora biti dana u obliku koji zakon predviđa za taj ugovor – javnobilježničkog akta ili solemnizirane privatne isprave. U suprotnom, ugovor o prijenosu poslovnog udjela je ništetan. Ovaj rad propituje ispravnost tih zaključaka. Iako je Visoki trgovački sud ispravno pošao od pravila o paritetu oblika pravnoga posla i punomoći za njegovo sklapanje, to se pravilo treba teleološki reducirati kada oblik pravnog posla nije primarno ustanovljen radi zaštite ugovornih strana. Nadalje, posebni zakoni sugeriraju da ugovor o prijenosu poslovnog udjela može biti sklopljen i na temelju pisane punomoći s javnobilježnički ovjerenim potpisom. Naposljetku, čak i ako se inzistira na paritetu oblika između ugovora o prijenosu poslovnog udjela i punomoći za njegovo sklapanje, povreda tog pravila ne dovodi do ništetnosti, nego pendentnosti ugovora, što omogućuje da ga opunomoćitelj naknadno odobri.The High Commercial Court held that the power of attorney to enter into a share transfer agreement must be executed in the form required for the share transfer agreement itself – that of a notarial act or a private document certified by a public notary. In the absence of such form, the share transfer agreement is invalid. This paper examines whether this conclusion is justified. Although the High Commercial Court correctly applied the requirement of “parity” between the form of an agreement and the power of attorney for its conclusion, this rule should be restricted whenever the form’s primary purpose is not the protection of the parties. Furthermore, other statutes suggest that the share transfer agreement can be entered into on the basis of a written power of attorney with the signature authenticated by a public notary. Finally, even if the “parity” rule is literally applied, the absence of parity does not cause the invalidity of the share transfer agreement, but only its temporary ineffectiveness, which can be cured by the principal’s approval